Peacefulness: A Junior Conceptual Project by Devon Bartlett (2015)

I am exploring the feeling of peacefulness through the experience of accepting those who are different. To make my Conceptual art I started by painting with watercolors. Then I scanned my watercolor painting into Illustrator. Here I added glass to represent the shattered image the protagonist has of themself. I started out making the black swirls only blotches, but then I realized they look a lot like the watercolor swirls, the peacefulness. so I made them into something different. Also good can come from bad, that is why they are swirled with color. The black splotches and swirl in the center show how the shattered self image ruins the peace, because if the protagonist can’t even accept themself they can’t be at peace.

In my art the water colors represent the peacefulness in the life of the protagonist of my poems. The softer, happier colors represent the light and joy felt by peacefulness and being at ease. They also represent those who are different as the colors are swirling together and mixing even though they are different. The glass represent the cracks in the life of the protagonist as they learn more and they realize they can’t feel at peace until they can accept themself. The black swirls show that sometimes, even when we are at peace or relaxed, bad things can happen. Whether these bad things are physical or mental they do not last forever, that is why they are only splotches in parts of the image.